Creating the best you can, with what you have, based on what you know.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Astica, a wine for the New Depression

I love deep, rich, complex wines that reveal themselves in layers on the palate giving you new subtleties with each bite of food.

This is not one of those wines.

It is however perfectly delightful being exactly what it is. It is a burst of fruit and acid on the tongue, it doesn't linger and posses earthy qualities. It is what it is.

I always thought that wine snobs were being pretentious when the used the term 'drinkable', but some wines are just that...wonderfully drinkable and evocative in their own way.

This wine is a sunny day in BuenosAires sitting in a cafe waiting for your significant other to return from a shopping trip. It is a house wine, a cafe wine, a dinner wine on a simple Tuesday.

With Jambalaya the burst of fruit contrasted beautifully with the spice. With chocolate it washed away the deep dark tones with it's bright flavors. At 4.32 a bottle (From AckerMerral and Condit) it was the perfect wine for the evening. And thus, my first wine for the New Depression entry, drinkable and under 5 bucks a bottle.

*Just a note for those of you who buy wine in NYC, you really should know this store. It may not always have the lowest possible price, but for service and knowledge they are head and shoulders above any other store in NY.